Cartridge-belt for machine-guns.



J. HENNE'VELD & A. LEMEI CARTRIDGE BELT FOR MACHINE cums.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9. I912,

Patented Apr. 27 1915.

JACOBUS HENNEVELD, OF LAANDAM, AND ALEXANDER LEMEI, F AMSTERDAM,NETHERLANDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

Application filed August 9, 1912. Serial No. 714,232.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, J ACOBUS HENNEVELD andALEXANDER LEMEI, subjects of the Queen of the Netherlands, respectivelyresiding at 3 Nieuwe Heerengracht, Laandam, and 14 GljSbIGCllt vanAemstelstraat, Amsterdam, Netherlands, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Improved Cartridge Belts for Machine Guns, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cartridge belts for machine guns, of the typecomprislng two bands sewn together by transverse stitches.

The present invention has for object. an improved cartridge belt havingthe advantage that the cartridges are so held that they cannot fall outof the belt or be pressed out owing to shrinking of the belt, should thelatter become damp.

The improved belt is also more flexible, lighter and cheaper to makethan the belts hitherto used.

The invention consists in an improved cartridge belt for machine guns inwhich two bands of equal breadth are connected together by shorttransverse seams at each longitudinal edge only, in such a manner thatat one edge of the belt the cartridge cases, and at the other theprojectiles, are gripped between transverse seams, while the centralpart of the cartridges, and particularly the conical part of the casingthereof, are not held in any way' by the bands.

When sewing the stitches, care has to be taken that the cartridges willbe held at the correct distance apart required by the machine gun withwhich the belts are to be used..

One example of the improved cartridge belt is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is an elevation of the belt partly filled with cartridges, Fig.2 a top plan, and Fig. 3 a bottom plan.

The bands 1 and 2 of durable material are sewn together at bothlongitudinal edges by means of short transverse seams 3 preferablymachine stitched. The middle parts of the two bands between. the linesIII and III-IV thus simply lie on each other without being connected inany way. The seams on the upper edge of the belt are spaced at such adistance that the casing 4 of the cartridges to be placed in the beltcan be inserted between the two bands so as to be firmly held there,while the thinner projectile 5 is similarly held between the two bandsat the lower edge of the belt, where the seams are closer together, forthe purpose of enabling the said projectiles to be gripped. The seams atthe edges of" the bands are so arranged that the cartridges wheninserted in the belt are at the desired distance apart.

It is obvious that in the improved strap the cartridges are gripped byboth edges of the belt only over a length corresponding to that of theseam 3. The central part of the cartridges and particularly the conicalpart 6 of the casing, lie quite freely between the bands 1 and 2. Shouldthe band shrink, owing to becoming damp, the cartridges will, it istrue, be more tightly held in the belt, but the conical part of thecartridge will never be firmly held, so that the cartridge will retainits position in the belt under all conditions. If the conical part ofthe smooth cartridge were firmly held as in known cartridge belts formachine guns, which have a connecting seam extendin across the wholebreadth of the band, the cartridges would be partly pushed out of thebelt by the resulting forces. These cartridges, when the belt was inuse, were apt to drop out owing to the vibration of the machine gun, andin any case the cartridges were not all inserted by equal amounts in thestrap, which caused irregularities in the firing. All these drawbacksare obviated by the improved belt.

The belt hereinbefore described is perfectly flexible, so that whenfilled it can be folded quite fiat and placed in a box or case. Thecartridges cannot slip out of the belt during transport, and the lattertakes up so much less room that, Whereas with known belts 250 cartridgesinserted in the belt could be placed in one box, with the improved beltthis number can be raised to about 300.

The improved strap moreover can be made very quickly and cheaply, andthe whole ammunition supply for machine guns kept stored in the beltsand transported therewith. The time absorbed by inserting the cartridgesin the belt in the field is thus saved. In addition the improved belt ismuch lighter than the known belts in which the transverse seams arereplaced by riveted brass strips, the former weighing only about .10ozs. and the latter 2% lbs.

What we claim is:

1. An improved cartridge belt for machine guns, comprising two bandsheld together bycoiiperating pairs of transverse seams extending a shortdistance from each side of the respective lon 'tudinal edges of thebands, the seams of eac pair at one edge of the bands being closertogether than the seams of the pair of the other edge.

2. An improved cartridge belt for machine guns, comprising two bandsheld together by cooperating pairs of transverse seams extending a shortdistance from each side of the respectivelongitudinal edges of thebands, the intramargina-l portions of the bands being continuous andfree of seams.

3. An improved cartridge belt for machine guns, comprising two bandsheld to gether by cooperating pairs of transverse seams extending ashort distance from each side of the respective longitudinal edges ofthe bands, the part of the bands adjacent to the conical part ofthecartridge being continuous and free from transverse seams.

4. An improved cartridge belt for ma-' chine guns, comprising twoidentical bands held together by cooperating pairs of transverse linesof stitches extending a short distance from each side 01; the respectivelongitudinal edges of the bands, the intramarginal portions of the bandsbeing free of seams. v

5.- An improved cartridge belt for machine guns, comprising twoidentical bands held together by cooperating pairs of transverse linesof stitches extending a short distance from each side of the respectivelongitudinal edges of the bands, the part of the bands adjacent to theconical part of the cartridge being free from transverse seams.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands 1n presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JACOBUS HENNEVEL-D. ALEXANDER LEMEI.

Witnesses:

B. C. A. VONTER, AMDER NAQTEGAULY.

